NXT UK
Date: August 18, 2022
Location: BT Sports Studios, London, England
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Andy Shepherd

Then everything changed, as WWE has confirmed that NXT UK will be going on hiatus after three more shows, with NXT Europe taking its place. Granted that isn’t much of a surprise as several NXT UK stars popped up this week on NXT, along with the whole spoiling the winner of the United Kingdom Title tournament. As for this week, more first round matches in the United Kingdom Title tournament. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

United Kingdom Title Tournament First Round: Joe Coffey vs. Mark Andrews

Coffey shoulders him down to start so Andrews tries a headlock. That works about as well, as Coffey powers him into the corner a few times, setting up a backbreaker. We hit the half nelson of all things to keep Andrews down but he’s back up with some dropkicks to the chest/leg. Andrews gets rocked by a headbutt but manages to come back with a flying forearm.

Coffey gets knocked to the apron where he winds up hanging upside down by his feet for a good visual. Back in and a high crossbody gives Andrews two but Coffey snaps off an overhead belly to belly for two. Coffey knocks him hard into the corner and it’s All The Best For The Bells to get rid of Andrews at 7:40.

Rating: C+. As has been the case for pretty much the entire history of wrestling, power vs. speed continues to work. There is almost no way to screw up such a basic formula and they did it well here. Andrews is good at playing the sympathetic face in peril and Coffey is big enough to hit people really hard. Solid opener.

Post break, Joe Coffey sings about his win and promises to take the title back to Gallus.

Amale vs. Nina Samuels

The fans seem to be behind Nina as Amale rolls her up for an early two. A dropkick into the corner keeps Samuels in trouble but she’s right back with a cheap shot as the referee separates them. We hit the chinlock with a knee in Amale’s back, followed by a backbreaker for two. Nina doesn’t seem to be a fan of Amale’s face as she fishhooks the jaws, only to miss a charge into the ropes. Amale slugs away and the comeback is on, with Amale hitting some clotheslines. The fans get behind Amale for a change as she hits a running boot in the corner. The Hopebreaker finishes for Amale at 6:31.

Rating: C. Amale continues to kind of meander but Samuels is the one who is there to put over just about anyone else. The fans continue to get behind Amale but if she isn’t going to get close to the title, there isn’t much for her to do. She has the charisma to make it work, but she feels like she has been on a treadmill for months now.

Oliver Carter leaves the trainer’s room and runs into Trent Seven, who thinks Carter should just forfeit their semifinal match. That won’t happen, so Seven promises to break Carter’s leg.

Ilja Dragunov loves the tournament but promises to come for the winner.

Chase U vs. Eddie Dennis/Saxon Huxley

Thea Hail is here with Chase U. Chase and Dennis trade wristlocks to start with Chase getting the better of things. Dennis gets knocked down to set up the spelling stomps and it’s off to Hayward. Some quick wrist cranking means it’s already time to go back to Chase, with Hayward barely being legal for fifteen seconds. Huxley comes in as well and accidentally ax handles Dennis’ arm, earning Huxley a shove into a rollup.

That doesn’t mean much as he runs Chase over and drops an elbow for two. Chase is sent into the corner for a clothesline from behind, only to get in a knockdown of his own. The double tag brings in Hayward and Dennis with the former taking over. Hold on though as Huxley comes back in, which doesn’t sit well with Dennis. That means it’s already back to Dennis, who gets backdropped for talking too long. The Fratliner finishes Dennis at 6:43.

Rating: C. One day, Chase U is going to go for some titles and the fans are going to be behind them so hard that it is going to be a sight to behold. The team works so well and they have put something together that is working far better than it should have. Hopefully they get the chance to move up a bit, because it could be a lot of fun.

Post match Dennis yells at Huxley, who chokebombs him and poses with Chase U.

Video on Mark Coffey vs. Noam Dar for the Heritage Cup Part II. They do a nice job of making a midcard title match including Noam Dar feel like a major deal.

United Kingdom Title Tournament First Round: Kenny Williams vs. Tyler Bate

Bate takes him down by the arm to start and then spins around a bit, setting up a quick rollup for two. The threat of Bop and Bang has Williams backing up before he goes with a test of strength. Williams actually takes him down but can’t break Bate’s rather awesome bridge. They head outside with Bate grabbing the airplane spin, only to miss a charge into the post.

Back in and Williams hits some headbutts to the ribs (that’s a weird way to go) but punches the mat in a failed attempt to block a sunset flip. A snap suplex gives Williams two and leaves him frustrated at the count. Some shots to the head set up a neck crank (with Williams almost sitting on his neck at the same time), only to get reversed into an electric chair.

Bate suplexes him out of the corner and nips up, setting up the running shooting star press for two. Back up and bate can’t get the airplane spin, but manages on the second attempt before spinning Williams right back the other way (that’s still clever). Bate is too dizzy to follow up though so Williams is able to get back up and kick him in the knee.

Bop and Bang is broken up again but Bate knocks him outside for the big dive. The fans are WAY behind Bate as he muscles Williams up into a bridging German suplex for two. The Tyler Driver 97 is countered but so is Bad Luck, leaving Williams to roll him up for two, even with feet on the ropes. Williams goes up but dives into an overhead German suplex. The Rebound lariat sets up the Tyler Driver 97 for the pin at 13:20.

Rating: B-. This is the kind of thing that makes Bate shine as he survived against Williams, who was just the right level of threat to give Bate a run for his money. Good main event here, as I think you can see the finals coming from here for Bate, though the match with Coffey should be good. Williams is a fine heel, but he was in over his head here.

Overall Rating: C+. It’s such a weird way to go with this show in its final weeks, as there is no reason to get invested in a lot of this stuff. Even if you knew the show was ending and the tournament was all you had left, there isn’t even any drama about who is winning the title. I still don’t get why WWE is going this way, but at least it is only going to last for a few more weeks before we get to the big finale. For now though, another pretty good show, which is right in NXT’s ballpark.

Results
Joe Coffey b. Mark Andrews – All The Best For The Bells
Amale b. Nina Samuels – Hopebreaker
Chase U b. Eddie Dennis/Saxon Huxley – Fratliner to Dennis
Tyler Bate b. Kenny Williams – Tyler Driver 97

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NXT UK
Date: August 11, 2022
Location: BT Sports Studio, London, England
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Andy Shepherd

We’re in a new world around here as the United Kingdom Title is vacant and that means it is time for a tournament to crown a new one. Other than that, we have the usual issues to deal with, likely meaning an NXT guest star and some stuff in the pretty decent women’s division. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

We recap Ilja Dragunov getting injured and the need for a title tournament.

United Kingdom Title Tournament First Round: Oliver Carter vs. Charlie Dempsey

The rest of Die Familie is here with Dempsey and Carter is coming in with a banged up knee. Both of them get inset promos promising to win. Carter isn’t having any of this Die Familie posing before the bell and jumps Dempsey to start fast. A clothesline puts Dempsey on the floor and there’s the slingshot dive, with the knee holding up well enough. Back in and Dempsey sends him hard into the corner so the leg hits the ropes.

Dempsey takes him down by the leg for some rather painful looking cranking. Carter fights up and tries a springboard, only to hurt his leg again. Of course Dempsey is fine with going after an injured limb, setting up a northern lights suplex for two. Carter kicks out of a kneebar attempt so Dempsey ties up the leg again and fires off some forearms to the chest.

A leg trap dragon suplex gets two on Carter but that’s escaped as well. Some forearms stagger Dempsey to start Carter’s comeback but his knee gives out again. A Rock Bottom gives Carter two so he tries the superkick, only to have his knee fail one more time. Another dragon screw legwhip sets up a half crab….which Carter reverses into a cradle for the pin at 9:11.

Rating: C+. Carter has come a long way and it is nice to see him getting a chance like this. He has no chance of winning the title but he got a win here and gets to keep going for one more match. It’s also weird seeing Dempsey get pinned, but he is the kind of guy who is going to be able to have a spot for as long as he wants as there is always room for a technical star.

After last week’s #1 contenders main event ended in a mess, Blair Davenport, Eliza Alexander, Amale and Isla Dawn had to be separated.

Tyler Bate is ready to be United Kingdom Champion again.

Eliza Alexander vs. Thea Hail

Alexander fires off forearms to start but gets flipped into the corner for her efforts. Back up and Hail hits a quick dropkick but gets sent hard into the corner. There’s a hair toss to start working on the hair and a camel clutch to work on Hail’s…..camels? Hail powers up and hits an enziguri but a standing moonsault hits raised knees. Alexander hits a running kick to the face for the pin at 4:14.

Rating: C-. Hail has a lot of energy and her charisma in the Chase U segments are great, but the matches aren’t quite clicking yet. It’s also a little weird to see her lose here when she’s treated as something of a project, especially to Xia Brookside’s enforcer. Not much of a match, with something of an odd result.

Amale is immediately interrupted by Nina Samuels, who calls Amale no hope to the French whatsoever. Amale rants in French before switching to English to say she’ll go through anyone to become champion, including Samuels.

Andre Chase finishes explaining why we don’t have a U in the word “color” but Eddie Dennis comes in to besmirch this university. Chase: “WHO THE F*** DO YOU THINK YOU ARE???” This is a TEACHABLE MOMENT and somehow Dennis gets a match with….Saxton Huxley? Dennis vs. Chase is as obvious of a path as you can get around here.

Teoman vs. Sam Gradwell

Rohan Raja is here with Teoman. Gradwell grinds away on a headlock to start but Teoman is back with a slap to the face. This goes as well as expected as Gradwell punches him in the face a few times, followed by a clothesline out to the floor. A Raja distraction lets Teoman sweep the leg on the apron though and we hit the chinlock back inside.

Gradwell powers up and tosses him away, with Teoman coming up holding his ankle. Even Gradwell doesn’t buy this but Raja grabs him from behind for a neck snap across the top. Teoman’s sliding forearm gets two so Gradwell fights up and slugs away. Raja gets caught pulling Gradwell off the ropes though and that’s an ejection. The distraction lets Gradwell hit a Samoan driver for the pin at 5:45.

Rating: C. Commentary was putting over how far Gradwell has come and that is absolutely right. He has gone from little more than another person without much of a personality to being the one who stands up to evildoers. That is the kind of spot that could serve him well as he is intense enough to make it work, which is exactly what he is doing.

Mark Coffey is in Sid Scala’s office when Noam Dar comes in, saying they need to talk. Dar wants a rematch and that’s fine with Coffey, who tells Scala to make a rubber match. Scala will get on that.

United Kingdom Title Tournament First Round: Wolfgang vs. Trent Seven

They take their time to start until Wolfgang shoulders him down. An armdrag into an armbar has Seven in more trouble, followed by some shoulders driven into his shoulders. Wolfgang runs him over again and they head outside with Seven being whipped into the barricade. Seven cuts off a dive from the barricade though and the beating is on back inside.

We hit the chinlock with a knee in Wolfgang’s back until he powers up, only to have his ribs give out. The ribs are fine enough for a release German suplex, setting up a basement shoulder for a double breather. A suplex into a cutter gives Wolfgang two and a fireman’s carry gutbuster gets the same. Wolfgang knocks him off the top but the Howling only hits raised knees. The Birminghammer finishes for Seven at 8:56.

Rating: C+. Nice stuff here, as Seven gets a win to continue his run. He isn’t likely to win the title either but he is in a better spot than Wolfgang, who just lost his title shot. The match was good enough too, with Wolfgang getting to dominate until Seven caught him in the end.

Overall Rating: C+. The good thing about having a tournament is that you can have a good idea of how long it is going to run. Odds are this one is going to last for probably a month, which should give us some nice action and drama. Other than that, we had the usual nice show with a bit of everything mixed in. In other words, it was your run of the mill NXT UK.

Results
Oliver Carter b. Charlie Dempsey – Rollup
Eliza Alexander b. Thea Hail – Running kick to the face
Sam Gradwell b. Teoman – Samoan driver
Trent Seven b. Wolfgang – Birminghammer

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NXT UK
Date: July 21, 2022
Location: BT Sports Studios, London, England
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Andy Shepherd

We’re coming off of a title change last week as Mark Coffey FINALLY took the Heritage Cup from Noam Dar, ending his record reign. After the match, Joe Coffey made his return to celebrate with his brother as things seem to be going well for Gallus for a change. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

We open with a recap of Mark Coffey’s win last week.

Opening sequence.

Isla Dawn vs. Fallon Henley

Henley forearms away to start and hits an elbow to the face before armdragging her into the ropes. That means a forearm to the face but Dawn sends her into the corner to take over. A running kick to the chest gives Dawn two and we hit the cross arm choke. Henley fights up and drives her into the corner for the break, only to get kicked in the head. Dawn hits a half nelson slam for the pin at 5:13.

Rating: C-. I continue to have no idea what is going on with the bottom half of the women’s division as Dawn gets a win after seemingly not winning anything for the better part of ever. At the same time, you would think that Henley would be one of the more protected stars from NXT, though it does at least give Dawn a win with some value. That isn’t likely to go anywhere, but at least she got something.

Sarray is happy to be here but stops to ask Meiko Satomura for a match. Satomura is down for a change, but tells Sarray to be prepared.

We look back at Amale beating Stevie Turner but not impressing Blair Davenport.

Amale goes to find Blair Davenport and says she’s keeping her anger for whenever they get in the ring.

Josh Morrell vs. Dave Mastiff

Morrell has both shoulders taped up. Mastiff grabs a headlock to start and takes it to the mat, where Morrell hand walks his way to freedom. A wristlock has about the same luck as Morrell spins out, leaving Mastiff frustrated. Instead of the holds Mastiff tries the power, with a hard shoulder and belly to back suplex to drop Morrell for the first time. The slow pounding begins, with Mastiff forearming him down and putting on the nerve hold.

Back up and an overhead belly to belly sends Morrell flying for two in a good looking crash. Morrell can’t get a sunset flip but he can hit a dropkick, setting up a corkscrew moonsault for two. Another dropkick puts Mastiff on the floor, setting up a big running flip dive. Back in and Mastiff snaps off a powerbomb into a Regal Roll for two. Another Regal Roll sets up a backsplash to finish Morrell at 7:01.

Rating: C. So you have Morrell get a win a few weeks ago and then he gets beaten down here in a near squash. I’m not sure what the logic is there, as Morrell seems to have something that might be worth giving a small shot. Mastiff winning is fine enough, but why have Morrell lose after building him up recently?

Respect is shown post match.

Sha Samuels and Noam Dar are having some trouble paying off the gambling debts from last week’s Heritage Cup loss. They can’t even afford a paper or booze so Dar leaves. Two hours later, Johnny Saint showed up to get his money, sending Dar running off.

Josh Briggs and Brooks Jensen are fired up to be champions and they’re down for a title defense against Wild Boar/Mark Andrews.

Nina Samuels vs. Emilia McKenzie

They fight over a lockup to start until McKenzie gets up the ropes for a quick hurricanrana. Samuels gets taken into the corner for some kicks to the leg but sends McKenzie face first into the ropes. A dropkick to the back puts McKenzie in trouble and she gets tossed around the ring without much trouble.

The comeback is cut off with a forearm to the face for a delayed two before Samuels puts her on top. That’s fine with McKenzie, who pounds her down for a crash outside. Back in and a faceplant drops Samuels for two but McKenzie misses a charge into the corner to give Samuels two of her own. That doesn’t seem to matter as McKenzie hits a spear for the pin at 4:57.

Rating: C. They’re building to something with McKenzie, as she isn’t happy with Meiko Satomura paying more attention to Sarray. A win here gives her a bit of momentum and it wouldn’t shock me to see her get involved in the upcoming Sarray vs. Satomura match. That’s a way to go, as McKenzie is certainly talented enough to go somewhere if given a chance.

We get a face to face showdown between Ilja Dragunov and Wolfgang before Dragunov’s United Kingdom Title defense next week. Wolfgang has wanted to be champion since 2017 and wants to take it from Dragunov. That’s cool with Dragunov, who says Wolfgang is the kind of person who helped him get to the title in the first place.

Wolfgang wants to win the title, but Dragunov talks about Wolfgang being stuck in the shadow of Gallus. Next week, Dragunov wants to fight Wolfgang one on one, not a member of Gallus. Wolfgang is ready to do Dragunov a favor by taking the champion’s burden away, but Dragunov doesn’t think so. Simple and to the point here, but it’s a little hard to buy Wolfgang as a major threat to Dragunov.

Trent Seven vs. Sam Gradwell

Seven is sent outside with Gradwell hitting a suicide dive eleven seconds in. Gradwell knocks him around ringside before pulling Seven off the apron to keep him in trouble. They get up to the apron, with Seven nailing a hard lariat to drop Gradwell for a needed breather. Back in and a suplex drops Gradwell, allowing Seven to kick away at the chest. That just wakes Gradwell up so he fires off forearms to the face and a belly to belly suplex for a bonus.

A running clothesline puts Seven on the floor again but he’s right back in for a hard suicide dive to knock Gradwell into the barricade. Back in and Gradwell catches him on top for a top rope butterfly suplex (and a heck of a crash). That’s enough for Seven to run, which is enough of a ruse to let Seven send Gradwell knee first into the steps. They get back in and it’s time to stay on Gradwell’s knee, with the brace being ripped off.

Something close to a Figure Four has the knee in trouble, though Gradwell turns it over, with Seven getting straight to the rope. Gradwell hits a hard clothesline for two but Seven goes right back to the knee. The Seven Star Lariat gets two so Seven grabs the knee brace. A big swing misses, so Gradwell drops him with a discus forearm. Gradwell picks up the brace but gets it taken away, allowing Seven to kick him low (because he’s a modern heel). Another Seven Star Lariat finishes Gradwell at 11:02.

Rating: C+. This was the same problem that Seven has had since his heel turn: he’s only so good/interesting in the ring and his way out of trouble is a low blow. Other than the eventual match with Tyler Bate, I’m not sure how interesting he is going to be. As long as he isn’t pushed as the next top heel or even a huge deal, it should work out, but I don’t know what kind of legs he has in this role after the Bate showdown.

Post match Seven loads up another low blow but Tyler Bate returns and chases him off to end the show (with Seven giving a great “I’ve just seen a ghost” face).

Overall Rating: C-. Not their best effort of a show, as you can feel the energy draining out. Maybe things can get a bit better with a fresh taping cycle, but Dragunov vs. Wolfgang isn’t exactly a top feud. I don’t know if Seven vs. Bate is the big solution, but things have not been the most thrilling around here as of late. At least the NXT invasion seems to have gone away, though it isn’t like things are great again. This wasn’t a very interesting show and that needs to change in the coming weeks.

Results
Isla Dawn b. Fallon Henley – Half nelson slam
Dave Mastiff b. Josh Morrell – Backsplash
Emilia McKenzie b. Nina Samuels – Spear
Trent Seven b. Sam Gradwell – Seven Star Lariat

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NXT UK
Date: June 23, 2022
Location: BT Sports Studios, London, England
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Andy Shepherd

Things have gotten a little more interesting around here as Trent Seven has gone full evil and it should set up a heck of a personal feud with Tyler Bate. Other than that, Kenny Williams is still trying to figure out what is up with Tiger Turan and Ilja Dragunov needs something to do. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

We open with a recap of Moustache Mountain losing the Tag Team Titles and the official split last week.

Opening sequence.

Here are Ashton Smith and Oliver Carter to get things going, with Smith having his knee heavily braced and showing a limp. Smith talks about how he was going nowhere until Carter became his partner. Now he is a champion in WWE because they are the NXT UK Tag Team Champions. However, that makes what he is about to say next all the harder: he has ruptured his MCL and the titles have to be vacated due to his injury.

Smith apologizes to Carter, who says Smith didn’t let him down. Carter says he’s always there for Smith, who tells Carter to make a go of it while he’s out of action. Sid Scala comes out to accept the vacated titles, but does announce Smith and Carter as the champions one more time. Smith and Carter leave so here is Die Familie to interrupt. Those titles should be theirs but here are Josh Briggs/Brooks Jensen, Jack Stars/Dave Mastiff and Mark Andrews/Wild boar to interrupt. No one says anything, but Scala makes a four way elimination match for the titles in tonight’s main event.

Sarray comes in to see Meiko Satomura and pays some respect. With Sarray gone, Meiko tells Emilia McKenzie that she gets to face Fallon Henley next week. Meiko wants some fighting spirit.

Sha Samuels isn’t happy with Sid Scala but Wolfgang interrupts and a match is teased.

Myla Grace vs. Isla Dawn

Grace takes her to the mat to start and spins around a lot, setting up the basement dropkick to the side of the head. Dawn isn’t having that though and kicks her down, setting up the chinlock. Grace fights up and strikes away before a tornado DDT gets two. A middle rope dive misses though and Dawn kicks her in the head. The half nelson slam finishes for Dawn at 5:05.

Rating: C. Not much to this one but Grace is someone who has been around a few times now and isn’t too bad. The division can always use some fresh blood and that is what we might be seeing here. She wasn’t squashed here but there is no shame in losing to someone who has been around as long as Dawn.

Tyler Bate has taken a leave of absence after Trent Seven attacked him last week.

Kenny Williams is still obsessed with Tiger Turan.

Noam Dar comes in to see Sid Scala and thinks he is going to have to retire as Heritage Cup Champion. Or maybe he’ll have one more match, for some money money.

Nina Samuels vs. Sarray

Sarray grabs the leg to start and the threat of a half crab sends Samuels over to the rope. Back up and Samuels cranks on the wrist until Sarray sends her into the corner. Samuels knocks her down though and ribs at the face in the ropes. That’s broken up and Sarray dropkicks the knee out before knocking her off the top. The running dropkick against the ropes sets up a high collar suplex to finish Samuels at 5:35.

Rating: C. I get the idea of Sarray, but the transforming thing is just a weird deal that doesn’t add anything and is weird throughout. I’m not sure what the point of the thing is other than to give Sarray something, but it isn’t exactly working. Samuels continues to be the person with a gimmick who you can put out there for loss after loss and not have her drop very far. That’s a good thing to have and NXT UK seems to know it.

Blair Davenport is back next week.

Xia Brookside and Eliza Alexander mock Sarray but Meiko Satomura comes in to scare them off.

Tag Team Titles: Brooks Jensen/Josh Briggs vs. Jack Starz/Dave Mastiff vs. Wild Boar/Mark Andrews vs. Die Familie

Elimination match for the vacant titles with Charlie Dempsey in Die Familie’s corner. Starz and Andrews flip around to start so it’s Raja coming in, only to get sent into the corner by Boar. Jensen comes in to powerslam Boar so Teoman tags himself in and hammers away. A clothesline out of the corner gets Boar out of trouble and Mastiff brings himself in to start wrecking people.

Starz and Mastiff start double teaming Teoman, with Starz grabbing a chinlock. Mastiff comes back in and glares Teoman off, meaning Briggs comes in for the monster staredown. They knock everyone else off the apron first though and then clothesline each other down for a bit of a twist. Everything breaks down and Briggs chokeslams Teoman onto the pile at ringside.

Andrews adds the big dive before throwing Teoman back in to get beaten up as well. A running dropkick/German suplex combination sends Teoman into the corner for the tag off to Starz, who gets blasted by Boar’s lariat. Fall To Pieces hits Stars but Mastiff makes a save, allowing Starz to cradle Andrews for the elimination at 9:36.

Starz is banged up and the referee checks on him, only to have Teoman kick him in the bad knee. A dropkick out of the corner gives Starz a breather though and it’s Jensen coming in to fight Mastiff. That works for Mastiff, who crossbodies him down but a distraction lets Raja hit a jumping Downward Spiral to finish Mastiff at 12:15.

So we’re down to Die Familie vs. Briggs/Jensen for the titles with Jensen getting enziguried into a spinebuster for two. A belly to back suplex gets Jensen out of trouble and the hot tag brings in Briggs to really clean house. Dempsey’s distraction lets Teoman hit a Backstabber for two with Jensen making a save. Teoman stomps on Briggs’ back a few times, setting up a crossface. That’s broken up with a rollup and the second hot tag brings in Jensen to clean house. Teoman and Dempsey get kicked off the apron and it’s a high/low to give Briggs the pin and the titles at 18:16.

Rating: B-. The match was long and felt like a big deal, which is one of the best things that can be aid here. What matters here is that Briggs and Jensen won the titles, which may or may not be a good thing. It felt like a cool moment as the team finally wins something, but at the same time it is a bit much to have the Americans come over and win the titles over three NXT UK teams. Die Familie winning here might not have been as fun of a moment, but it would have made more sense.

Fallon Henley comes in to celebrate to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. The main event was the big deal as NXT UK had to do something big to take care of a bad situation. That was accomplished, though the rest of the show wasn’t exactly great. What matters here is that they got the important part right, which is often a lot harder than it seems. Good enough show here, though the creeping factor of the lower NXT card coming over to NXT UK isn’t a positive sign.

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NXT UK
Date: May 12, 2022
Location: BT Sports Studios, London, England
Commentators: Andy Shepherd, Nigel McGuinness

It’s a big time show this week as we have the 200th episode (though that doesn’t seem to be the case if you actually count them up). Counting issues aside, we have a big main event as United Kingdom Champion Ilja Dragunov is defending against Jordan Devlin in a title match that is also Loser Leaves Town. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

The opening video looks at the title match.

Opening sequence.

Ashton Smith/Oliver Carter vs. Gallus

The winners move on to a triple threat Tag Team Title match and it’s the Coffey brothers for Gallus. Mark powers Carter to the mat to start and it’s quickly off to Joe for a chop as commentary talks about Joe never winning anything. Carter sends Mark into the corner with a headscissors and starts in on the arm, with Smith coming in to do the same. That doesn’t work for Mark, who runs Carter over and hands it back to Joe….who is quickly knocked to the floor.

We settle back down to Joe hammering on Smith, setting up an overhead belly to belly. Joe seems to tweak his knee on a leapfrog though, allowing Carter to come back in with a slingshot shoulder. An assisted 450 gives Smith two but a Silly String moonsault hits raised knees. Joe gets in another suplex and the hot tag brings in Mark to clean house. Mark hits a middle rope bulldog for two on Carter and a belly to back drops Smith. Joe comes back in with a high/low for two, leaving Mark to dive onto Carter. A missed springboard bangs up Joe’s knee again and another assisted moonsault gives Carter the pin on Joe at 10:24.

Rating: C+. They kept things moving here but Smith and Carter winning was the only thing that makes sense. The two of them have seemed primed to get the titles for awhile now and Gallus’ losing streak gets to continue. I’m not sure where that is going but things are continuing to go badly, which makes things interesting.

Post match, Gallus isn’t happy.

A-Kid has gotten his match with Charlie Dempsey to be held under Heritage Cup rules.

Video on NXT UK over the years and how some of them have gone on to main roster success. They’ve had some good stuff.

Lash Legend cuts off Emilia McKenzie’s interview but doesn’t have time for McKenzie getting annoyed at her.

Nina Samuels vs. Ivy Nile

Samuels offers a quick pose off, which is kind of stupid when Nile’s biceps are bigger than Samuels’ head. Nile takes her to the mat for a headscissors, complete with pushups. Samuels goes to the ropes for a needed breather before snapping Nile’s throat across the top. That lets Samuels get in her own pushups, followed by the double fish hook. Nile fights up with the kicks to various parts of Samuels and a running dropkick in the corner gets two. A slap to the face rocks Nile on the ropes but she’s right back with the dragon sleeper for the win at 4:43.

Rating: C-. This wasn’t much but it is nice to see Nile getting a win over a more established name. Nile seems ready to move up to the title picture soon as it isn’t like there is much more for her to do otherwise. Samuels is pretty firmly established in her spot and the Nina Samuels Show stuff can get her right back after another loss.

Damon Kemp doesn’t think much of Sha Samuels jumping him last week.

Dave Mastiff and Jack Starz mock one of Die Familie’s meetings, including a cardboard cutout of Charlie Dempsey’s head. A beating is promised.

Joe Coffey says he’s going to take some time away by himsel.f

Wild Boar blames Eddie Dennis for his troubles last year and now he wants revenge.

Kenny Williams continues to go insane and still believes that Tiger Turan is behind everything. He even has a wall covered in papers as all sane people do.

United Kingdom Title: Jordan Devlin vs. Ilja Dragunov

Dragunov is defending and this is Loser Leaves NXT UK. Devlin gets taken to the mat to start, with Dragunov working on a headlock. The comeback attempt just earns him another headlock before it’s time to go with the slugout. Devlin catches him on top with a shot to the face and it’s a brainbuster onto the top turnbuckle for a nice tribute to El Generico.

Back in and Dragunov can barely stand so Devlin kicks him in the ribs for two. A running legdrop just wakes Dragunov up but Devlin knocks him into the corner. One heck of a clothesline drops Dragunov and we hit the half crab, complete with some stomps to the head. That’s broken up though and Dragunov starts firing off elbows, with commentary saying Dragunov is more volatile than Bitcoin.

Back to back German suplexes drop Devlin again but he’s able to crotch Dragunov on top. A moonsault out to the floor drops Dragunov and a reverse cutter gets two back inside. Dragunov catches him on top with a superplex, setting up a hard forearm to the face for two. Torpedo Moscow only hits buckle though, allowing Devlin to hit the Devlin Side for the pin (with Dragunov’s foot in the ropes).

Devlin celebrates but here is Johnny Saint to say restart things. Another Torpedo Moscow is countered into a Canadian Destroyer (that was sweet) and a brainbuster gets two. Dragunov is back up with a German suplex and the Torpedo Moscow retains the title/gets rid of Devlin at 16:12.

Rating: B. Dragunov continues his reign in another good match, though some of his kickouts do get to be a bit much. There come points where he feels indestructible and that can be hard to take at times. Other than that, Devlin leaving could be interesting, as he could be on his way to regular NXT or out altogether, or he might be back under some shenanigans. Either way, I’m curious to see what is next for both of them, as Dragunov is in need of a new challenger and no one seems to be ready for him.

Dragunov celebrates and Devlin is crushed to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. This was a much better show than the last few, as there is only so much you can get out of a show focused on the lower level NXT stars. Instead, this show was about the United Kingdom Title with a big time main event. That is what the show has been needing, though I have a bad feeling that this is a one off rather than a shift back to what made the show work over (most of) the last 200 weeks.

Results
Ashton Smith/Oliver Carter b. Gallus – Assisted moonsault to Joe
Ivy Nile b. Nina Samuels – Dragon sleeper
Ilja Dragunov b. Jordan Devlin – Torpedo Moscow

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NXT UK
Date: May 5, 2022
Location: BT Sports Studios, London, England
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Andy Shepherd

We’re back to the title picture this week with Meiko Satomura defending the Women’s Title against Isla Dawn in a World of Darkness match. I’m not sure what that means but NXT UK has enough of a track record that I can believe they’ll pull it off. On top of that, we get more of the build towards next week’s 200th show. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

Lash Legend arrived earlier today and conscripted Emilia McKenzie to take care of her bag.

Opening sequence.

It’s time for Supernova Sessions, this time in the ring. Noam Dar says this is the first edition of Supernova Sessions 2.0, which makes me scared for this place’s future. This week’s guest is international superstar Lash Legend and, after taking some time to get her seated, Dar gives her something resembling a plant. Hold on though, as Samuel Sha brings in a much nicer bouquet, which she puts in the Heritage Cup.

Legend rhymes about how awesome she is and talks about being here to run through the competition. Dar has his another present for her in the form of a Lash video package, which Legend certainly likes. Then Dar tries to open a water but it seems to be soda and sprays all over him. With Dar dealing with that, Samuels looks at the odds for the incoming NXT exchange students having success around here, though he isn’t sure who Damon Kemp is.

Legend talks about how her physical abilities are like some animals and promises to leave everything else for the vultures. Now play the funky music. This was pretty terrible and one of the worst things I can remember on NXT UK in a long time. Granted that might be due to it being about Lash Legend and nothing actually happening.

Sid Scala talks about finding challenges for the Tag Team Titles, with a triple threat title match coming up. Von Wagner comes in to shake Scala, but Sam Gradwell says he’s here to do that. A match seems likely.

In the back, Damon Kemp comes up to Sha Samuels and Lash Legend. That’s enough to get Legend to leave so Kemp can complain about being a 400/1 underdog on Samuels’ odds.

Tiger Turan vs. Tate Mayfairs

Turan is a masked guy and kind of skinny. Mayfairs’ wristlock is flipped away to start and Turan cartwheels over him, setting up a butterfly suplex. A high crossbody gives Turan two but Mayfairs pulls him out of the corner for a crash to take over. That doesn’t last long as Turan chops him down a few times and scores with a middle rope dropkick. Turan hits a Swanton for the pin at 4:05.

Rating: C. Turan is fairly small but he was good enough to look decent in there. I don’t know how much of a future he’ll have around here as this place seems to be the new NXT dumping ground but when has that stopped NXT UK from getting something out of someone before? Not much of a match but I can always go for a masked man.

Gallus runs into Oliver Carter/Ashton Smith and they both seem to want the Tag Team Titles. They’ll meet next week in one of the #1 contenders matches.

Video on some of the NXT UK stars who have moved on to become NXT/main roster stars.

Video on Ivy Nile.

Nina Samuels doesn’t like Nile stealing her spotlight and she’ll do something about it next week.

Danny Jones vs. Damon Kemp

Kemp wrestles him down to start but Jones slips out in a bit of a surprise. Jones grabs the arm but is quickly reversed into a gutwrench suplex. A clothesline drops Kemp and the neck crank is on, only to have Kemp come up with some overhead belly to belly suplexes. Kemp hits a Regal Roll, setting up a running powerslam to finish Jones at 4:26.

Rating: C. Kemp continues to impress but I think you can get the idea of what the new NXT UK, or at least this taping cycle of it, is going to be about. Kemp made short work of someone who has had some nice appearances around here before and that is probably going to be the case for more than one NXT UK regular. I get that NXT UK is the minor league, but making them practice dummies is a bit hard to swallow.

Post match Sha Samuels runs in to beat Kemp down.

Tiger Turan is celebrating his win but here is Kenny Williams with wanted posters, apparently thinking that Turan attacked him last week.

Die Familie is on their roof and talk about their upcoming matches, with Charlie Dempsey facing A-Kid and Teoman/Rohan Raja wanting the Tag Team Titles.

Video on Jordan Devlin vs. Ilja Dragunov for the United Kingdom Title next week. Devlin talks about his dad telling him to be whatever he wanted, but to be the best. They had their first match but it wasn’t quite how Devlin wanted it. Now it’s time for the title match, but also Loser Leaves Town to make it more interesting.

Women’s Title: Isla Dawn vs. Meiko Satomura

Satomura is defending in a World of Darkness match, which means a street fight with the lights dimmed. We get the Big Match Intros, but this time Satomura jumps her before the bell to start fast. Dawn kicks her out of the air to little avail as Satomura kicks her to the floor. The apron kicks are blocked though and Dawn busts out a broom. Some shots with said broom have Satomura in trouble so Dawn kneels to make some thunder and lighting go off.

Back in and it’s time to open up Dawn’s box of trinkets and pull out Dani Luna’s hair. The hair is wrapped around Satomura’s eyes but she fights up, steps on the box, and starts kicking away. A spinwheel kick gives Satomura two but Dawn catches her on top with some chair shots. The backdrop driver onto the chairs is broken up though and Satomura kicks her out to the floor.

That works for Dawn, who whips out a rope/cord and ties Satomura to the post. Some whips have Satomura in trouble until she kicks her way to freedom. Dawn misses a dropkick into the steps, allowing Satomura to get in a kendo stick shot back inside. The cartwheel knees to the back let Satomura swing the stick again but Dawn is back with a Tarantula. The top rope rope Meteora onto the chair gives Dawn a delayed two (thanks to her banged up knees) and it’s time to set up some chairs. Dawn can’t suplex her through the chairs and it’s Scorpio Rising to retain the title at 12:49.

Rating: C-. The lights were darker? That’s really all they had for this? That might be the lamest gimmick I have seen in years as it felt like something Russo would have done. All they did was a weapons match with the lights dimmed down and I’m supposed to find that more interesting? That’s a bad sign coming after a pretty lame show and that’s a rather bad sign.

Satomura celebrates to end the show.

Overall Rating: C-. Please don’t let this be how NXT UK is going to go. Please. It’s the one consistently very good show that they have. While it is one thing to send someone over to another show to let them have some more time, this show felt like the NXT dumping ground with a BIG focus on the lower level NXT stars, plus a really lame main event. NXT already has two shows. I know these people need to be in the ring, but can they just get back on the Coconut Loop again instead of taking away one of the few shows that I like week in and week out? Please?

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NXT UK
Date: March 17, 2022
Location: BT Sports Studios, London, England
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Andy Shepherd

We have a guest start this week as Roderick Strong is coming over from NXT. That isn’t something that happens very often and I’m curious to see where it leaves. It very well may be a one off match, but it’s a little weird to see WWE suddenly caring about this show after years of indifference. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

In Memory Of Scott Hall.

Opening sequence.

Oliver Carter vs. Tyler Bate

Ashton Smith and Trent Seven are here too. Bate works on a wristlock to start but Carter slips out and grabs one of his own. They go to a quick pinfall reversal sequence and it’s off to an early standoff. Carter takes him down with an armbar and then does it again to show off. Back up and Bate hits a running dropkick out to the floor for a crash.

Bate starts in on the ribs but gets taken down by a quick crossbody. That doesn’t see to bother Bate, as he is right back with the airplane spin into a gutbuster for two. An abdominal stretch with an elbow in the ribs has Carter in trouble and Bate turns it into an octopus to make it worse.

Carter falls down for the escape so Bate small packages him for two. A half nelson backbreaker gives Carter two of his own and they trade strikes to the head. The Tyler Driver 97 is countered into a hurricanrana for a VERY close two and the seconds get in a fight on the floor. The distraction is enough for Carter to backslide bate for the huge upset at 10:11.

Rating: B-. Now that is an upset and they actually surprised me with the clean (enough) finish. Beating Bate means a lot more than beating Seven so this is the way to go if you want to make Carter and Smith feel like a threat. If nothing else, Seven has been paranoid about keeping the titles and the loss might have Bate doing the same, which could get interesting.

A-Kid asks a raving Saxon Huxley to be his tag partner against Die Familie and gets a shouting yes.

Wild Boar looks at a mask and says he blames Eddie Dennis for everything that happened to him last year. Vengeance is sworn.

Nina Samuels vs. Emilia McKenzie

Samuels slips out of a headlock to start and they trade wristlocks. Some armdrags put Samuels down and McKenzie goes up for a middle rope hurricanrana. A slam cuts McKenzie off though and things slow down. Samuels kicks her into the corner to set up the chinlock, which is broken up as per expected.

McKenzie hits some clotheslines and a belly to back suplex and Samuels is sent outside. That means a big suicide dive to knock Samuels into the barricade for the crash and they’re right back in. McKenzie goes up but gets pulled off the top (by the hair, to make it even worse) for two and Samuels is frustrated. Samuels misses a moonsault though and McKenzie hits a quick spear for the pin at 9:43.

Rating: C+. McKenzie continues to be good for some nice performances and beating Samuels is a solid win for her. I don’t know if she goes anywhere with Meiko Satomura as champion but building for the future is a wise move. Samuels continues to be herself: a character that is easy to dislike who has been in the same place on the card for years now.

Mark Coffey leaves Sid Scala’s office and has gotten himself a Heritage Cup Title shot. Joe Coffey seems happy for him.

Someone, possibly Sam Gradwell, has left Kenny Williams a note saying he has made a lot of enemies. Williams isn’t too worried, but does seem a bit nervous when someone shuts the locker behind him.

Symbiosis comes in to see Sid Scala, as Wild Boar wants a match with Eddie Dennis. That’s not going to work for Dennis, who suggests Primate instead and then leaves before Scala can make a decision. Scala has to make a call as I try to get my mind around the idea of someone named Wild Boar making a formal request.

Aleah James vs. Stevie Turner

They fight over wrist control to start until Turner shoulders her down and glares a lot. A running headscissors gives James two but Turner hits a boot to the head. Another running kick to the head and a forearm get two more and we hit the chinlock with a knee in James’ back. James finally fights back but a Side Effect gives Turner two more. Back up and James grabs an O’Connor roll and bridges back for the pin at 4:11 for the clean pin.

Rating: C. I’m still not sure what they’re doing with Turner, who seems like she should be a bigger deal than she is and just never gets there. James is hardly a star and she beat Turner clean without as much as a fluke mishap. Maybe James is on her way up, but Turner seems to be falling lower and lower with every match.

Sha Samuels is now taking bets on Mark Coffey vs. Noam Dar. Someone calls in and Coffey takes a bet on Coffey…..at nearly 1700-1. Oh this isn’t going to end well.

Video on Meiko Satomura vs. Isla Dawn, who meet for Satomura’s Women’s Title next week. Dawn looking more and more insane makes her feel extra evil.

Roderick Strong vs. Wolfgang

Strong gets a nice reaction and there are no seconds here. Wolfgang powers him to the apron to start so Strong goes for the leg. That just makes him have to bail back to the floor as they’re firmly in first gear to start. Back in again and Strong goes after the arm but gets reversed into a headlock. Wolfgang lifts him up by the arm but Strong gets it back to the mat and grabs a chinlock.

That’s broken up and Strong is sent outside, where Strong drops him onto the barricade. Strong takes it into the corner back inside and strikes away, only to stop to yell at some chanting fans. Wolfgang gets taken down into a reverse chinlock but fights up and drives in some shoulders to the back in the corner. A powerslam gives Wolfgang two and the Caber Toss sends Strong flying again. The spear only hits buckle though and Strong scores with a jumping knee for the pin at 9:51.

Rating: C. I wasn’t feeling this one as it wasn’t exactly a barn burner. Strong is a much bigger star and there wasn’t much drama, which left Wolfgang feeling like he was just there to take a fall. Odds are Strong has a big match before heading back stateside and that is a good use for someone who has more star power than most of the NXT UK roster.

Post match Strong, who is bleeding from the eye, challenges Ilja Dragunov to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. The slightly disappointing Strong match aside, I had a good time with this show as the other matches were entertaining. It continues to be a positive sign that NXT UK can put on engaging shows without a lot of its top stars around. I’m curious as to why Strong was brought over though, as NXT UK has been almost completely isolated for the better part of ever and now, here’s a guest star. Just please don’t let the people with authority remember this show exists. I can’t take another loss.

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NXT UK
Date: March 10, 2022
Location: BT Sports Studios, London, England
Commentators: Andy Shepherd, Nigel McGuinness

It’s time for another title match as Noam Dar will be defending the Heritage Cup against Joe Coffey in the main event. The other big match will see A-Kid facing Charlie Dempsey in what could be a spectacle of technical wrestling. This show is such a breath of air compared to the main roster stuff so let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

We open with a look at the Heritage Cup Title match.

Opening sequence.

Charlie Dempsey vs. A-Kid

During his entrance, Dempsey says he’s doing this himself, without Die Familie. Dempsey’s early cravate is escaped with a cartwheel and they stare at each other a bit. A-Kid gets taken down by the arm but reverses into a headlock. That is countered into a headscissors as they stay with the technical stuff to start. They go to the test of strength and flip around a bunch, with Dempsey bridging up on his neck.

A-Kid can’t break it down no matter what and gives up, looking a bit disturbed as a result. With that not working, it’s time to slug it out until an Octopus sends Dempsey to the ropes for the break. A-Kid starts twisting on the ankle instead but has to fight out of a kneebar, instead kneeing Dempsey in the head. Back up and Dempsey goes right back to the knee before switching things up with Cattle Mutilation. Dempsey switches to an armbar but A-Kid slips out so Dempsey grabs a fisherman’s suplex for two.

A-Kid is back with his own suplex for his own two but can’t get an arm crank. Instead he settles for an enziguri to drop Dempsey, which draws out Rohan Raja for a distraction. That’s enough for Dempsey to grab Checkmate (Where he ties up the head and leg so that A-Kid is almost kicking himself in the back of the head. It’s almost like he is covering and hooking the leg backwards.) for the tap at 12:34.

Rating: B-. This was the kind of technical exchange that is always going to be entertaining. Dempsey is quite the savage on the mat and knows how to make it look like he is destroying people. A-Kid is awesome, and now he might be on his way to the regular NXT, which should be quite good for everyone.

Sid Scala announces that an American is on his way here…but Wolfgang interrupts. That’s perfect for Scala, who gives Wolfgang a match with Roderick Strong next week.

We look back at Isla Dawn attacking Meiko Satomura last week to interrupt her special ceremony. The title match is in two weeks.

Aleah James is asked about the Women’s Title match but Stevie Turner interrupts to ask why we should care what James thinks. James walks away from her chattering.

Danny Jones/Josh Morrell vs. Symbiosis

Primate hiptosses Morrell over to start but gets caught with a pop up dropkick. T-Bone comes in so Jones does as well, setting up an exchange of shoulders. Jones takes over on the arm and it’s Morrell coming in with a top rope stomp to the arm. T-Bone pulls Morrell into the corner though and the beating is on, including Primate coming in off the middle rope with an ax handle to the back.

Morrell shrugs it off though and the hot tag brings in Jones to start cleaning house. T-Bone gets knocked down and Morrell climbs on top of Jones’ shoulders, setting up a Spiral Tap for two. That’s enough for T-Bone though, who is back with a powerslam and brings in Primate for a top rope headbutt and the pin at 6:04.

Rating: C. Jones and Morrell continue to be some of the more promising guys around here and it is nice to see them getting their chance here, even if they lose to a bigger team like Symbiosis. I don’t know if Symbiosis is going to the title scene, but they could make for some good challengers for Moustache Mountain. Not a showcase for either of them, but it did well enough.

Post match Symbiosis celebrates but Wild Boar runs in for his return and clears them out with a chair.

Nina Samuels mocks Emilia McKenzie, who steals the mic and asks how Samuels must feel to be this desperate for attention.

Ashton Smith/Oliver Carter think Moustache Mountain is trying to get out of the Tag Team Title rematch but Trent Seven tells them to earn it in a pair of singles matches. We’ll start next week.

Heritage Cup: Noam Dar vs. Joe Coffey

Coffey is challenging and has Mark Coffey to cancel out Sha Samuels. Round one begins with Dar circling around him before his leg dive attempt is thrown away. Coffey cranks on a wristlock before taking him to the mat. A Boston crab is escaped so Coffey goes after the leg again, only to have Dar grab the ropes as the first round ends.

Round two begins with Coffey grabbing a headlock takeover and grinds away for the first minute. Dar slips out and kicks away at the ribs but Coffey snaps off a hard German suplex. A running shoulder in the corner gives Coffey the pin at 2:25 of the first round and 6:11 overall.

Round three begins with Dar having to pull himself up so Coffey knocks him right back down. A top rope spinning crossbody gives Coffey two but Dar is back with a kick to the head. The kneebar doesn’t work for Dar so he rolls Coffey up to tie the score at 1:49 of the round and 8:35 total.

Round four begins with Dar going to the arm to cut off the slugout but stops to yell at the camera. Dar kicks him down and stays on the arm but Coffey gets to the apron for a hard slingshot shoulder. They’re both down for a bit until Coffey gets the Boston crab, sending Dar straight to the rope as the round ends. They fight to the floor between rounds though and Dar gets in a cheap shot.

Round five begins with Dar running over a staggered Coffey in the corner. The Nova Roller is cut off by a flying headbutt/shoulder though and they’re both down again. Coffey hits a clothesline for a knockdown but Dar is back up to badly lose a slugout. All The Best For The Bells knocks Dar silly but Samuels puts the foot on the rope. The distraction lets Dar hit the Nova Roller for the pin at 2:54 of the round and 15:45 total to retain.

Rating: C+. This wasn’t a bad match but it was the kind that came and went. Dar might have felt like he was in a bit of danger but it was nothing serious, even if Coffey winning the title could have been interesting. They seem to see something in Dar holding the Cup for a long time and I could go with that, but this was only a pretty good match.

Overall Rating: C+. In something I’ve said before about other promotions, they’re going to be fine if this is one of their bad ones. The star power wasn’t really around this time and they focused on the midcard guys, which worked out fairly well. You can’t have the big names on every week so it isn’t some horrible idea. Good enough show, though they have had better ones.

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NXT UK
Date: December 23, 2021
Host: Nina Samuels

It’s almost Christmas and that means this show is getting a week off. We have a special holiday edition of the show, which is UK for Best Of 2021. That could make for a good show, as NXT UK has had a rather nice year so far. There are a lot of matches to pick from so let’s get to it.

These are going to be the full version of the matches copied over from the original reviews.

Nina Samuels welcomes us to the show and promises to give us the best.

Shawn Michaels narrates a video on the Iron Man match.

From August 5.

A-Kid vs. Jordan Devlin

Thirty minute Iron Man match and A-Kid might have a bad knee coming in. Feeling out process to start and they take turns going after wrist control. Devlin gets him down into an armbar but A-Kid is right back up. A dropkick puts Devlin on the floor but it’s back inside for more grappling. The threat of an armbar sends Devlin over to the ropes and he grabs a Gory Stretch to put A-Kid in trouble for a change. That’s broken up as well so they go to the pinfall reversal sequence.

A-Kid grabs a cross armbreaker, sending Devlin straight to the ropes. Devlin kicks him down though and starts cranking on the arm until A-Kid is up with a dropkick of his own. A slap to the face doesn’t annoy A-Kid, who grabs a headlock on the mat. That’s broken up as well and Devlin ties the bad leg into the ropes. A hard stomp onto the leg sets up a Texas Cloverleaf to give Devlin the first fall at 9:45.

We’re down to 20:00 to go as A-Kid insists that he can continue. Devlin is smart enough to stay on the leg with a kick to the knee into a chop block but A-Kid pulls him into a rear naked choke. The rope is reached though and Devlin drives the knee into the apron. Devlin wraps it around the post as well and the Figure Four around the post makes it even worse. Back in and a Boston crab sends A-Kid bailing to the rope.

With that not working, they trade German suplexes until they fall out to the floor for the double crash. They both beat the count back inside, where Devlin can’t get a Crossface. Instead he hits a running knee to the face for two but Devlin is back up to win the slugout. A-Kid pulls him right back down into the cross armbreaker though and Devlin taps to tie it up with 11:43 to go.

Devlin has to pause to get his elbow back to normal and gets knocked off the apron to make it worse. A-Kid kicks him down to get rid of a chair and snaps off a hurricanrana for two. The running knee gets the same on Devlin and they’re both down with a banged up limb. Devlin gets kicked outside with just over seven minutes to go but comes back in and headbutts A-Kid down for two.

They slug it out from their knees and wind up on the apron, where Devlin is smart enough to hook the rope to avoid any suplex attempt. Instead, he drops to the floor and pulls him down with the Devlin Side for the big crash with 4:00 left. They both dive back inside, where another Devlin Side is countered into a Canadian Destroyer. A kick to the head gives A-Kid two at 3:00 left.

A-Kid tries to pull him into the Rings of Saturn with his legs and finally gets the whole thing on to make Devlin tap with 1:30 left to make it 2-1. Devlin tries some rollups but can’t get anywhere with less than :30 left. They slug it out until Devlin gets two at 30:00, with A-Kid winning 2-1.

Rating: B+. The highest compliment that you can give a match like this is that it didn’t feel long and that was the case here. It felt like two guys beating each other up until one of them couldn’t hang in there any longer, but not through violence. Instead, this was a technical exchange with both guys working on a body part to have an advantage later in the match. Heck of a fight here and worth checking out.

Nina Samuels thinks there should be an Iron Woman of NXT UK.

Video on Tyler Bate taking the Heritage Cup from A-Kid. Then Noam Dar took it from Bate after the 473 week long #1 contenders tournament.

A-Kid, Amale, Oliver Carter, Ashton Smith, Kenny Williams (who sings an anti-Subculture version of Jingle Bells), Jack Starz, Wolfgang, Chip Danning (referee), Rohan Raja and Dave Mastiff wish us a Merry Christmas.

Next week: New Year’s Edition, looking at all of the champions.

Nina Samuels sends us into a look at our second match.

We recap Kay Lee Ray defending her Women’s Title against Meiko Satomura, her final boss.

From June 10.

Women’s Title: Meiko Satomura vs. Kay Lee Ray

Ray is defending and we get the Big Match Intros. Satomura kicks at the leg to start and forearms away in the corner. Ray can’t hit an early Gory Bomb attempt and bails to the floor from a fireman’s carry attempt. Back in and Ray hits a superkick for two and the chinlock goes on. With that broken up, Ray chops her against the rope for two and a clothesline sets up the trash talking.

A gordbuster sets up the Koji Clutch but Satomura reverses into an STF. Ray makes the rope and scores with an elbow, followed by some neck cranking. Satomura has to slip out of the Gory Bomb and it’s a DDT to plant the champ again. Back up and Ray nails a Death Valley Driver, only to walk into the Gory Bomb to put them both down. They trade kicks to the face, with Satomura smiling before hammering away again.

Ray is back with a tornado DDT for two but Satomura pops back up. Two superkicks make her pop up again so there’s a third, which just fires Satomura up enough for a Death Valley Driver. Another superkick from Ray sets up the Gory Bomb which sets up a Swanton for a rather near fall. Ray teases walking out but walks into a Death Valley Driver on the floor.

That barely slows Ray down and she hits the Gory Bomb onto the apron. Back in and they head up with Satomura managing a sunset bomb for a rather close two. Satomura grabs a sleeper but Ray gets over to the rope. Ray’s attempt at a Koji Clutch doesn’t work so it’s Scorpion Rising to give Satomura the pin and the title at 18:27.

Rating: B. This is how you should want a major title change to go and they made it work. It made sense for Satomura to put everything she had into this as you cannot have her lose twice in a row in major matches. Satomura winning the title to end Ray’s reign fits well as Ray has gotten everything she can out of the title (and it has been a lot). This was the right call at the right time and a rubber match is not the worst idea.

Blair Davenport is coming for Satomura’s title. Satomura calls it easy peasy (I think).

Nathan Frazer, Saxon Huxley, Xia Brookside, Sha Samuels, Sam Gradwell (with his son) and Ilja Dragunov wish us a Merry Christmas. Eddie Dennis DOES NOT wish us a Merry Christmas.

Nina Samuels wraps us up.

Overall Rating: A-. These shows are always easy to do and they’re a great way to go through an hour (or an hour and twelve minutes in this case). NXT UK really has been one of the best shows of the year and it’s nice to see their high points. They didn’t do anything significant to advance things here and that’s ok for one week. Very entertaining show, as NXT UK has a tendency to be.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

AND

Remember to check out Wrestlingrumors.net for all of your wrestling headline needs.

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NXT UK
Date: November 18, 2021
Location: BT Sports Studios, London, England
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Andy Shepherd

We’re back in England and on the way to a bunch of big TV matches since there has not been any mention of a Takeover in forever around here. The big story at the moment is the upcoming Rampage Brown vs. Ilja Dragunov United Kingdom Title match, which is coming at some point in the future. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

A-Kid vs. Sam Gradwell

They go with the grappling to start with A-Kid taking him down with the headlock takeover. That’s reversed into an armbar but A-Kid flips out and grabs a cravate. Gradwell can’t flip his way out so he goes with a knee brace to the eyes to escape instead. We’re off to a face pull on A-Kid, followed by a heck of a running elbow to the face. There’s an overhead belly to belly for two and Gradwell is getting cocky. The Boston crab goes on but A-Kid slips out and kicks him in the head.

A high crossbody gets two on Gradwell and it’s a double knockdown for a breather. Back up and Gradwell gets pulled down into an omoplata, which is muscled up into a suplex for another break. One heck of a discus forearm puts A-Kid on the floor and a suplex sends him flying again. That’s good for nine so Gradwell hits him in the face for two more. The frustrated Gradwell hits him in the face but A-Kid pulls him into a cross armbreaker for the tap at 10:43.

Rating: B-. The more I watch A-Kid, the more impressed I am. He’s one of those guys who can make anything look smooth and that is always fun to watch. Change his name to something that sounds a bit more impressive and they’ve got something. Gradwell is someone who has all kinds of charisma and somehow stays popular despite not winning much of anything. I could go with the latter changing, but that doesn’t seem likely.

Gradwell looks frustrated and A-Kid looks impressed.

We look back at Rampage Brown wrecking Flash Morgan Webster last week. Webster is on the shelf with a shoulder injury and it’s not clear how long he’ll be out of action.

Ilja Dragunov is ready for his title match with Rampage Brown. Yes Brown is a monster, but Dragunov embraces the pain. Legends are written about the people who make the monsters fall, so long live the Czar. The title match is in two weeks.

Aleah James vs. Nina Samuels

Samuels pats her on the head to start and gets headlocked for her condescending efforts. They trade wristlocks until James snaps off a hurricanrana. Samuels runs her over though and stands on James’ hair, which is not exactly that nice. Three straight backbreakers keep James in trouble and Samuels cranks on the leg so hard that James kicks herself in the back of the head. That’s enough to make James fight back up with some clotheslines and a dropkick but Samuels plants her with a reverse suplex. Back up and James grabs a quick small package for the surprise pin at 4:53.

Rating: C-. James is someone who could be brought up through the women’s division in a hurry and it seems that might be what is on WWE’s minds at the moment. Samuels continues to be one of the established stars who doesn’t actually go anywhere, but who still has enough status that beating her means something. It’s not a great match, but it could moves James forward and that’s what matters.

Sam Gradwell is mad but Noam Dar and Sha Samuels interrupt with their Heritage Cup victory celebration.

Aleah James is very happy with her win but Isla Dawn attacks her and steals something from her gear.

Saxon Huxley vs. Kenny Williams

Huxley throws him around to start so Williams grabs a less than successful headlock. That earns Williams a grab by the throat and some rams into the mat but Williams gets smart by going after the leg. Williams ties the leg in the rope for a running kick before cranking on both arms at once. Back up and Huxley sends him into the corner, setting up a running big boot to the face. A running crossbody against the ropes rocks Williams again so he crawls under the ring and slides back out to post Huxley from behind. Back in and Bad Luck finishes Huxley at 5:53.

Rating: C-. Another not so great match with the rather charismatic Huxley losing to Williams, who is quite the villain. That being said, Williams is currently going by the name The Cockroach and I’m not sure how much of a future that leaves him. He has done well on his own though so maybe he can keep moving forward well enough.

Xia Brookside doesn’t like being told that she is late for training but she has a note from her dad.

Mark Andrews is happy with his win over someone as great as Nathan Frazer. Jordan Devlin comes in and tells him to start acting like more of an ace.

Teoman/Rohan Raja vs. Gallus

Joe Coffey is here with Gallus. Wolfgang throws Raja into the corner to start and it’s Mark coming in for an armdrag into an armbar. A shot to the face allows the tag off to Teoman, who gets armdragged as well. Gallus cleans house with monkey flips to the floor but Teoman ties Mark up in the apron to hammer away.

The villains take over and start the alternating stomps, including a variety to the shoulder. The chinlock doesn’t last long so Teoman runs Mark over for two instead. There’s a kick to the arm to keep Mark down and Wolfgang gets knocked off the apron. Mark doesn’t seem to mind though as he ax handles Teoman down and brings Wolfgang back in to clean house.

Everything breaks down and an enziguri into a Backstabber gets two on Wolfgang. An assisted DDT gets the same but Wolfgang hits a double clothesline. The assisted powerslam is loaded up but here is Charlie Dempsey of all people to jump Joe Coffey. The distraction lets Raja hit a jumping Downward Spiral to finish Wolfgang at 9:31.

Rating: C+. There’s something about Teoman that gets my attention and I like the option of having Dempsey join in. Raja might not exactly be a star but he is a good enough choice for a third wheel. Gallus is going to be fine as they are long since established as stars, so it isn’t like this is some big devastating loss. The Dempsey stuff has my attention though and that’s a good sign for Teoman/Raja.

Post match Dempsey, Teoman and Raja lay waste to Gallus to end the show.

Overall Rating: C. You can kind of tell when the tapings are wrapping up as there isn’t much left to go with on this show. The main event angle was good, but it’s all about waiting for the big stuff to come in the future weeks. I’m looking forward to some of these things, but they need a fresh taping to breathe a bit more life into the show after this one. The good thing is that I fully believe that NXT UK can pull that off, which is very nice to see after so many other shows have no such luck.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

AND

Remember to check out Wrestlingrumors.net for all of your wrestling headline needs.